Dr. Natoshia Cunningham, Associate Professor and pediatric psychologist in the Department of Family Medicine is transforming how children and families navigate chronic pain through a program she developed called ADAPT — a brief, accessible cognitive-behavioral program that equips kids with practical tools to manage symptoms and reclaim their lives.
Supported by NIH funding, her work not only improves pain- and mental health- related outcomes in kids with chronic pain, also investigates how children’s brains change when they gain effective coping strategies.
Cunningham's work is also breaking down barriers to care and ensuring that evidence-based pain management strategies reach the children who need it most. Her research is giving young people with chronic pain a pathway to confidence, adaptive coping, and a brighter future.
